A business leader in Pakistan has called for companies in the leather production chain in the South Asian Association for Regional Cooperation (SAARC) to stop competing against one another and, instead, join forces to transform the region into a US$1 trillion-per-year global leather hub.

SAARC comprises Afghanistan, Bangladesh, Bhutan, India, Nepal, the Maldives, Pakistan and Sri Lanka. Shahid Rasheed Butt, a director of the Islamabad chamber of small traders, said in recent comments to local media that, because these countries are “rich in raw material”, they have an opportunity to command an important share of global trade in leather. However, Mr Butt warned that common measures across SAARC countries on matters such as innovation and skills are essential.